The Homeseeker: Elemental Adventurer LitRPG [Isekai] (Series Complete!)

223 - Book 5 - Chapter 38 - Falling With Style



Zalan's eyes stung from the wind rushing by him, the freefall at a dangerously fast speed. Never before in his life did he think he would reach terminal velocity. He knew he wasn't nearly high enough to reach that speed, but even the speed he was currently falling was overstimulating every fear response in his body. Worse yet, he realized that the Elemental Dragon was too vertical for him and Rep to land directly onto its back. Rep stuck out his sword, imbued with wind-whipped flames, and Zalan picked up what he was doing.

Reaching his weapon out, Zalan stuck the blade into the monster, dragging across the side of its stomach to slow his momentum. The gargantuan creature bucked, sending a wave of unbearable pain through Zalan's injuries. Rep slid to a halt next to him, and the dragon thrashed around in pain and confusion. Zalan gripped painfully tight to the hilt of his blade, the only thing preventing him from falling and being pancaked on impact.

"Now what?" Rep screamed to be heard over the wind and dragon.

"Use everything you've got!" Zalan said.

Together, they blasted all the combined energy of Elemental Light and Fire into the wounds they had scratched into the dragon. The monster reacted quickly, flinging its body around in a spin that sent Zalan's vision into a spiral. He didn't have the strength to keep holding up against the force of the barrel roll and was thrown skyward. To his relief, a huge burst of air collected him and threw him onto the spine of the creature. From above, Gorb still had his back.

Rep was hanging onto his sword with both hands gripped tightly to the hilt, his eyes screwed shut in strain.

"Again?" Rep asked, his arms sparking with flame.

"Let's try to go for the eyes!" Zalan said.

Zalan imbued his blade and sent light out of it, redirecting it forward to snake across the dragon's back and up its neck. It wasn't as disturbed by the oncoming attack and didn't react as violently. Rep sent out two fireballs, but they were snuffed out by the speeding wind of the dragon's wing flaps as soon as the fire left his palms. The Elemental Dragon turned its neck toward them and locked eyes with them, seething hatred in its red irises.

"Fire incoming!" Zalan said.

Speeding the Elemental Light along the dragon's hide, Zalan finally reached the eyes and blinded it, covering it with the same kind of blindfold he used in his fight against Rexler. The monster shook its head around in confusion, moving like it was trying to push its head past the mask of light attached to its face. Despite this success, Zalan felt like it was a minor victory, seeing as they had hardly made a dent into the dragon's hide even at close contact. The dragon inhaled deeply, preparing to blow fire. Without use of its eyes, the dragon had gone into a glide to remain upright. The flight became more stable, allowing for Zalan to feel like he didn't have to hang on nearly as desperately to remain on its back.

He struggled to move one arm into his pocket while hanging on desperately with the other. The Oculus of Annihilation brushed his fingertips. He would have to use it. No other ideas came to mind.

"Wait!" Rep said suddenly. "I have it!"

With a loud grunt, Rep jumped to his feet and ran. Stumbling and straining against his injuries, Rep hobbled across the back of the dragon's neck at incredible pace. Using its scales as handholds whenever he stumbled, Rep was sprinting straight for its face, clearing the distance between the back and neck in no time.

"Are you insane?" Zalan screamed. "It's about to attack!"

Rep went from a stumble into a shaky run, racing up the monster's neck with graceless speed, scratching his shins and knees against the hard scales of the dragon's neck. The dragon spun its head to target its back. Although blind, it was aiming somewhat near Zalan, and released the flame. Zalan stared in horror. Rep was safe on its neck. But he would be incinerated in a second.

The ball of flame expanded like a mushroom cloud, covering all of Zalan's vision in its oppressive blaze. Then, it was sucked away like the dragon's mouth was a syringe pulled by a plunger in its throat. The fire surgically directed itself back inside of the creature, fighting against more fire that was trying to escape. As the fire weakened, Zalan saw his friend seated on the dragon's forehead, screaming in desperation as he redirected all the fire back into the monster's mouth, dumping it as far down as he could push it. On top of that, Rep let out a stream of fire from his feet, sending as much as he could into the dragon's open throat. The dragon convulsed its head, panic taking over its movements.

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With a nauseating pop, an explosion went off from within the dragon, the explosive flame stored within its body for too long. Zalan felt his sword and body violently flung away from the dragon's expanding body, Rep flying off along with him. They made eye contact just as they both began to glow. Both of them were gaining a Level. It was a small consolation prize to get a bit of healing the moment before plummeting to their deaths. Rep smiled at Zalan, and Zalan grinned back. He couldn't think of a more suitable ending for a fight with a massive dragon in the sky.

In a surge of energy, Zalan felt his body slow in its free fall just as he gained a Level. Eyes wide in shock, he saw Gorb floating next to him, on a spinning ball of air. He had been saved in a net of Elemental Air, remaining hovering in the sky. Gorb, Rep, and Zalan all floated stationary in the air.

"Gorb!" Rep screamed. "You're flying! All on your own!"

"Thanks to the two of you. I just needed one more Level and killing the Elemental Dragon has done it," Gorb said proudly.

The three looked down to watch the massive carcass of the intimidating beast fall to the ground. It was going to land directly on top of Wollstone.

"Of all the places, it had to be right on top of town," Zalan said.

"I hope everyone will be safe," Rep said.

"I am certain they will be," Gorb said confidently.

A massive arm made of sand reached out from above Gorb's home and swatted the dragon away before it hit the ground. Gorb nodded to his mother's conjured Elemental Power, then turned his head back up to the balloon.

"We need to return soon. I can not fly for very long, I already feel exhausted," Gorb said.

Flinging the three of them upward in a tornado of air, they all landed gently on the hot air balloon to an ecstatic crew. They applauded and patted Rep and Zalan on their backs, causing them both to wince and flinch away from their comrades in extreme pain.

"That was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen," Slauson said in astonishment.

"Indeed. I had no idea you were so bold, Rep!" Gorb said.

"You should have seen the way Gorbonifus jumped off the basket to save you!" Enzo said. "We hadn't even gained a Level, but he leapt to ensure you landed safely!"

"You jumped before you knew you could fly?" Zalan asked.

"Enough of that," Gorb pointed at Enzo sharply. "I will not be called Gorbonifus by any of you. You all fought and killed an Elemental Dragon alongside me. You can all address me as Gorb."

"Were we not allowed to call you Gorb before?" Dimak asked, scratching the back of his head in confusion.

"Finally! Do you know how much time this will save me when speaking to you?" Moss said. He was back on his feet, having regained energy and healed somewhat after gaining a Level.

"I see why they called you the Dealer of Dragon Death at the Elemental Rage Tournament," Slauson said to Zalan. "Brilliant battle put on by both of you. Shrouding its eyes to make it fly level. And running up its neck with no harness. It was…"

"Insane?" Moss offered.

"Indeed, it was insane," Slauson agreed.

Rep seemed a little surprised, having expected a compliment.

"And?" Rep asked, wondering if there was something more.

"And I would never have done the same, myself. For I am not insane," Slauson concluded.

For the next few minutes, the friends caught their breath and admired the view of the realm from the air. Sun striking through the clouds from above. Tiny homes with tinier people down below. Terrain changing the further one looked out into the distance. The way the clouds rolled into each other, forming larger clouds. It was a brilliant view, and Zalan thought it was well-deserved after their recent battles.

"Shall we go back down to the ground now?" Magnolia asked, looking over the side of the basket. "Now that we can repair the walls, you all can have the Healing Rest we are in need of. And then we can search for Aetheria."

Everyone turned to Zalan.

"Yeah. It could take days for Aetheria to show itself," Zalan said. "It travels on the back of a cloud, so we can never really know where it is. It could take days, even weeks, for it to show up again."

"Is that it over there?" Moss asked, pointing a finger.

To the shock and awe of everyone aboard, hundreds of buildings sprouted from on top the back of a cloud, moving casually across the sky. It was at their height, and moving directly toward them, brushing past any clouds in its way, like it was on an invisible track.

Aetheria. They had found the city in the sky.


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